Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Campaign hardware from Toplicht, a product review.

After reading "Campaign furniture", I have decided that I would like to make a set of travelling book cases.

Due to the Danish import regulations, it is immensely cheaper if I could source some hardware from Europe.
I managed to find some chest locks from Rutlands in England, that were reasonably priced.
They also carried brass corners, but those were kind of expensive.

A good friend of mine once suggested Toplicht as a possible source for some specialty hinges.
I sent for their catalogue, and I have also browsed their web page. The result: They really do stock most of what you could imagine.

I ordered the following items:

Brass corners at a price of just below 6 Euro a piece it is a stark contrast to the prices demanded elsewhere. The corners are cast brass with a thickness of approx 1/16". If you order more than 5 there is a discount.

Brass drawer pulls These look very much like the later type pulls shown on page 10 in "Campaign furniture". They seem to be a little bit thicker than 1/16. These are only 9.90 Euro a piece, if you order a single piece. Like the corners, these pulls also come with a discount if you order more than five.

Brass hinges These hinges are 5/64" thick and seem to be of a good quality. They are 13.90 Euro a piece, so they are a lot more expensive than the usual hinges I buy at the lumber yard, but the quality level is also quite different.
To get a discount on the hinges, you will have to buy at least ten.

The shop was really fast, I ordered the stuff Friday and I got it today. All the items were wrapped in newspaper for protection. Not that it matters much with brass hardware, but it gives a fine impression of the store, that they make sure everything is securely wrapped.

I ordered the locks Friday as well, but those haven't arrived yet, so therefore there is no review on those.

So if you need campaign hardware, I recommend Toplicht.de as a supplier. They have loads of interesting pulls and specialty hinges etc. and the prices seem very reasonable, actually downright cheap for some of the items (please note that I am in no way connected or affiliated with Toplicht).
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Brass corner, 2" x 3/4"

Brass pull, 2.75" x 1 5/8"

14 comments:

  1. That stuff looks good, and I am impressed with the price. I'll definitely consider them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The price makes it almost affordable to build a campaign chest. I was curious if the corner brackets were really thin,but they seem to be well made and have a substantial thickness.
      It is strange, because in Denmark anything that is sold from a yacht supplier is priced like it was made out of solid gold. But Toplicht definitely goes the other way.
      Brgds
      Jonas

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  2. Thanks for the review.
    Apart from Toplicht, I also read a recommendation for these "quadrant hinges" here: http://www.humidorbau.de/beschlaege/index.html (no English version apparently though). Maybe useful at some point.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Colin.

      The quadrant hinges look very good, and reasonably priced as well, which is fairly important in my opinion.
      I'll keep those in mind if I am going to make a small box requiring that type of hinges.

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
  3. Hey Jonas,

    Thanks for the tip. I'll have to file this away for later. I really want to build a campaign chest and hopefully someday I'll actually get around to it.

    All the best,

    Jonathan
    www.benchblog.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jonathan.

      The cost of hardware has so far kept me from making any campaign furniture, but with those corners and pulls, it is possible even without selling a kidney or taking up a second mortgage on the house.
      I have seen chest corners for around 35 £ a piece, they are admittedly 3" wide, but that still doesn't warrant for such a hefty price.
      Maybe I should send Toplicht a mail and ask if they could get those corners in 3" sizes as well.

      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
  4. Hey Jonas,

    Thanks for the tip. I'll have to file this away for later. I really want to build a campaign chest and hopefully someday I'll actually get around to it.

    All the best,

    Jonathan
    www.benchblog.com

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jonas
    are the measurements you give imperial or metric equivalents?
    Also, to someone from the states buy you campaign hardware and mail it to you? Would that run afoul of the import laws?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the problem will be that shipments from the US have to pass the customs in the EU.
      So you will definitely have customs duties.
      Ship it somehow "private" will need a declaration as a gift and should not contain a bill.

      Delete
    2. Hi Ralph and Stefan

      The measurements are my own conversions from metric.
      So in reality the stuff is metric, but since the majority of the readers of this blog come from USA, I wanted to "show off" and convert it for the readers.

      Stefan is correct about the import system. Actually even if it is a gift, you will have to pay customs and VAT if the value exceeds 10$.
      The customs and VAT is collected by the Royal Danish Mail on behalf of the Danish equivalent to IRS. And the mail service charges something like 15$ to collect the customs and VAT.
      Brgds
      Jonas

      Delete
  6. Hi Jonas,
    I've discovered Toplicht a while ago and I always wanted to order something there.
    Good to read your experiences and that you are satisfied with products and service
    Cheers,
    Stefan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Stefan

      Two of my friends have purchased various items from them before, so I tried to buy from them based on their recommendation.
      And I am happy to say that they do live up to all expectations.

      Cheers
      Jonas

      Delete
  7. You've touched on something that has partly kept me from even considering campaign style furniture, and that is both the cost of the hardware and the cost of the wood. Some of it is very nice, it's just too rich for my blood. That being said, I'm truly looking forward to your travelling bookcase project. I saw one on the Woodwright's Shop and thought it was very interesting.
    Bill

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bill

      So far the most expensive project I have made was the Titanic Deck chair. I think the hardware for two chairs almost totaled 175$ The wood was more or less free save for my own labour.

      I am afraid that two bookcases will total around 400 $ just for he hardware.
      I don't know what wood would cost, since I hardly ever buy any.
      I intend to line the upper case with felt, and that will probably raise the cost of maybe 40$.
      So I was actually very reluctant to start ordering stuff. But I asked Mette what she thought of it, and she reckoned that if they looked more or less as good as the deck chair, she believed that I should try to do it. I'll just have to make it heirloom quality to make sure they will be cherished by my children one day.

      I did some math just for fun, that if a person was to sell a campaign folding bookcase, the price would end sky-high. 230 for hardware and felt, maybe 100 for some nice wood. Estimated 8 hours to make the carcase with shelves, 6 hours to make four drawers, 4 hours to install hardware, 2 hours to line the case with felt, 2 hours to finish the piece with shellac.
      330 $ and 22 hours. So depending on the hourly wages it would definitely be an expensive piece.

      Normally I don't make recommendations on what to buy etc. but since this might help others who would be interested in campaign furniture, I gave it a shot.

      Brgds
      Jonas

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